Oct 26, 2011

Korean Beef Tacos

My husband I were big fans of the Great Food Truck Race on Food Network – a fun reality show without too much drama. Except for the cheating Korilla BBQ team. Even before they got kicked off the show for cheating I was really intrigued by the Korean BBQ tacos that they were always making – they looked and sounded so good. I have no idea where I could find something similar in Buffalo – so it was perfect when I came across this recipe. Although, I’m not really sure if these taste anything like the ones they make – but it doesn’t really matter since they were so good.

The beef is cooked in a slow cooker – and let me just say – the smell was.out.of.this.world – I think it was all of the umami from the soy sauce permeating the kitchen. I was worried that this would end up making too much for the two of us – but my husband ended up eating all of the leftovers for lunches – so you know that means it was a good recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Korean beef:

~2.5 lbs beef short ribs

2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. ginger, grated

3 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1 Tbsp. dark sesame oil

1 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil

1 Tbsp. sriracha

1/3 cup water

For the Cucumber Slaw:

1/2 seedless cucumber

Thinly sliced red onion rounds

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

crushed red pepper flakes to taste

For the tacos:

8 small wheat tortillas

fresh cilantro

bean sprouts

Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

sriracha

Directions

1. To make the Korean beef: Spray your slow cooker crock with non-stick cooking spray and add the ribs.

2. Whisk soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar with the garlic, ginger, sriracha, oils and water. Pour over the ribs in the crockpot. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. To make the cucumber slaw: Slice the cucumber very thinly and sprinkle with salt. Place in a colander and let sit for up to an hour over a bowl or in the sink. Shake additional water from the colander or pat with paper towels. Transfer to a bowl and toss with red onions, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Refrigerate until ready to use.

4. When the beef is done cooking remove 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid and skim the fat from the top. Pour the liquid into a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while separating the meat from the bones. Reduce the liquid by about half and pour over the shredded meat.

5. To assemble, serve the shredded meat on warmed tortillas topped a spoon of cucumber slaw, cilantro, bean sprouts, sriracha and a dollop of yogurt.